And now, the rest of the story

FOLLOW THE PROGRESS: Weighing In, John C. Cotey's column about his effort to lose weight, appears Tuesdays in Floridian. His starting weight on July 1 was 250 pounds. To read previous columns and his Web log, The Skinny, please go to www.sptimes.com/skinny

By DONG-PHUONG NGUYEN, wife of John C. Cotey
Published November 8, 2005

WEIGHING IN: 220.5

Everyone loves before and after pictures, the transformation from fat to not, from old to young.

John is no different.

Last week, he told about how he feels inside.

That's just half the story.

The other half tells you about the changes it has made in our daily lives, like how I am now allowed to toss his XL cotton T-shirts in the dryer without fear of them shrinking, or how John no longer walks hunched over so that his shirt hangs just right over his stomach, making it appear just a little bit smaller. He can wrap a towel around his waist after a shower now and it actually overlaps. He's wearing clothes I doubted he ever would.

Let me tell you the before-and-after story behind the before-and-after photos:

THEN: Whenever we pose for photographs, many of us make sure our hair is in place, all our buttons are clasped and we're standing straight. John? His first concern was always the height of the camera. If the photographer was shorter, that meant it would be a "looking-up-at-you" angle - the worst. Double chins look tripled. Girths look wider. Stand on a stool and shoot down, John would say.

NOW: Say cheese!

THEN: If we were taking John's car for a family trip, John would have to clean it out first. Every time. That meant throwing out Taco Bell bags he had hidden under the seat, Swiss cake roll boxes, and various wrappers from candy bars and bakery items.

NOW: What's a little gum wrapper or an apple core?

THEN: John would throw on a shirt to walk 15 paces to the edge of our driveway for the morning paper.

NOW: A shirtless John saunters 15 paces to the edge of our driveway, twirls, hand on hip.

THEN: After 15 minutes of playing with Jonathon, John, breathing hard, throws himself onto the bed and takes a break.

NOW: After an hour, John throws himself onto the bed, but this time, he and Jonathon are playing triple-flip-salchow.